[ The fun part of being drunk slams to a screeching, dizzying, nauseating halt. Rhys seems to sink into himself, looking awfully small for such a freakishly tall & narrow person. He looks offscreen, eyes fixated on... something Vasquez can't see for a good while as he listens to the verbal beatdown.
How the turn... tables.
He is going to throw up. Sooner rather than later. For now, though, he swallows hard and shifts his focus back to Vasquez. ]
I'll have to... deal with that -- her. [ If it's true. Of course it's true, kiddo. What've I told you since day one? Another quick look offscreen. Someone is smirking at him. Someone else. No, don't look at him. Don't validate him. Back to Vasquez. ] Eventually. [ His face is as hardened as he can muster. ] But... shhhhhut up for a second. Did they... [ d i z z y ] they ever tell you? What was in my head? What was sooooo important? You -- you know, you'd think, if you mattered at all they'd have told you.
[ That's a detail that Vasquez hasn't been privy to. Whatever it was, though, it had been important-- important enough for the reward offered to be far more than the money he'd embezzled. He'd have to have been dead to not try getting what Rhys had with that in mind, but he hadn't known exactly what he was after either way. ] [ Not for the first time, the uncertainty poses something of a problem. His brow furrows, but he still manages a sneer. ]
Only reason you mattered is 'cause you got lucky and found something important, Rhys. Where do you think you'd be without it? I don't care what it was. [ He does, though, he really does-- ] It's not gonna help you now. And y'know, even though Hyperion thought it was the most important thing-- it really doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day, you're just another middle manager who didn't make it big, and never will. How's that feel? [ One thing is clear, though-- he's dodging the question. Even drunk, Rhys can probably figure out why. ]
[ He opens his mouth but is cut off by a roboscree coming from offscreen. He moves sluggishly, as if struggling with gravity itself, but seems to think better of it.
Rhys looks at Vasquez.
Back offscreen.
Then he simply leans back as Dumpy floats across the camera, projecting a tiny, incredibly familiar blue ex CEO,
Handsome Jack's tiny hologram brandishes dual fingerguns as he floats on by. ]
[ The second he hears that screaming, Vasquez's blood pressure practically skyrockets. He already knew about Dumpy from a brief glimpse with Angel, but-- the combination of Rhys and his tiny screeching tin can is nudging up on too much for his effort at composure to take. He's been doing pretty well so far, but there's liable to be some yelling coming up on the forecast at this rate, and he wants to not. He'd had the better of Rhys for a while there, and he's not going to give his nemesis the satisfaction of flying off the handle. ] [ The fingerguns sting, though, partially because of the image used and partially for-- some other reason he's not willing to linger on for long. His frown twitches into a deep scowl, and the look in his eyes is outright murder; once his gaze flicks back up to Rhys after Jack's gone offscreen again, he's locked on target. Vasquez has no idea what kind of bullshit this is, but it isn't coming across as anything more than a fancy parlor trick yet-- and his annoyance is building pretty high. ]
Cool. Awesome. You've got yourself a hologram! Big deal. You get it to do anything else besides that, or can you not even program these things right? [ He gets the feeling that there's something more to this little display, but he's already too frustrated to think about it too much. Nice job, Hugo. Underestimating Rhys was easier, anyway. ]
[ One thing Jack does not like -- on a massive laundry list of things, but at the friggen' top -- is to be belittled. Dumpy jerks back intro frame, dizzy and confused. Which. Is his natural state, really.
But Jack. Jack is front and center. ]
'Wallethead, my ol' chumbucket -- are you? Doubting? My authenticity? Is that a thing that's happening right now?'
[ Rhys tilts his head and musters up a smirk. This is not the card he wanted to play, but it's a strong one, and he's responsible for pulling Dumpy back.
Jack is close enough to dominate the screen despite the small size. His voice is part jovial, all poison, and max reverb. ]
[ A flurry of questions come bubbling up to the forefront of his mind all at once-- how did Rhys know that nickname, anyway? How did this...Jack know that? How had Rhys managed this-- he hadn't seen much of anything in Norfinbury yet that would've contributed toward making any of what he's seeing here. Would that mean that this Jack had been brought from home-- and if so, what the hell? ] [ This...was probably the thing he'd been trying to retrieve. While Vasquez could guess what Hyperion would've wanted with a simulacrum of Handsome Jack himself, there were still a few gaps in the equation that were making the conclusion a bit too uncertain for his liking. ]
[ He sucks in a breath through his teeth, jaw clenched tight. As far as he knew, this wasn't the boss he'd known and loved, but-- Rhys was probably planning something. He'd play along for now, in the hopes that he could get some more information in the process for later. If this was all part of some trick, he'd get the better of Rhys eventually; he just had to wait it out until mistakes were made, and then he'd put an end to this. ] [ How dare he use Jack's image, anyway? The fucking gall-- ]
It's-- You're a little different than I remember, boss. [ 'YOU'RE A FEW INCHES TALL AND BLUE AND THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE,' but that goes unsaid. Presently, at least. ] And you're apparently shacked up with Helios' number one failure, which is...kinda surprising? You know what you're doing, though. Not second-guessing you or anything. [ --as he adds hurriedly. Vasquez liked to think he knew where the thin ice was with Jack, but he wasn't going to bank on it too much here. ] [ Quite literally the only reason he wasn't losing his shit over the Jackness of the situation is because of the whole...hologram thing. It just wasn't the same-- how was a projection gonna punch anyone? Even then, Vasquez's expression shifts to an odd sort of cringe, and he can't help but fidget in place. No matter how small and what color, Jack was...still intimidating. Despite his best efforts, there was some genuine discomfort present, although he wasn't going to brace himself for impact. He had to get to the bottom of whatever Rhys was planning, and he wasn't going to do that if he was too busy getting tied up in knots over knee-jerk responses to things that couldn't even happen. ]
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no subject
How the turn... tables.
He is going to throw up. Sooner rather than later. For now, though, he swallows hard and shifts his focus back to Vasquez. ]
I'll have to... deal with that -- her. [ If it's true. Of course it's true, kiddo. What've I told you since day one? Another quick look offscreen. Someone is smirking at him. Someone else. No, don't look at him. Don't validate him. Back to Vasquez. ] Eventually. [ His face is as hardened as he can muster. ] But... shhhhhut up for a second. Did they... [ d i z z y ] they ever tell you? What was in my head? What was sooooo important? You -- you know, you'd think, if you mattered at all they'd have told you.
no subject
[ Not for the first time, the uncertainty poses something of a problem. His brow furrows, but he still manages a sneer. ]
Only reason you mattered is 'cause you got lucky and found something important, Rhys. Where do you think you'd be without it? I don't care what it was. [ He does, though, he really does-- ] It's not gonna help you now.
And y'know, even though Hyperion thought it was the most important thing-- it really doesn't change the fact that at the end of the day, you're just another middle manager who didn't make it big, and never will. How's that feel?
[ One thing is clear, though-- he's dodging the question. Even drunk, Rhys can probably figure out why. ]
no subject
Rhys looks at Vasquez.
Back offscreen.
Then he simply leans back as Dumpy floats across the camera, projecting a tiny, incredibly familiar blue ex CEO,
Handsome Jack's tiny hologram brandishes dual fingerguns as he floats on by. ]
no subject
[ The fingerguns sting, though, partially because of the image used and partially for-- some other reason he's not willing to linger on for long. His frown twitches into a deep scowl, and the look in his eyes is outright murder; once his gaze flicks back up to Rhys after Jack's gone offscreen again, he's locked on target. Vasquez has no idea what kind of bullshit this is, but it isn't coming across as anything more than a fancy parlor trick yet-- and his annoyance is building pretty high. ]
Cool. Awesome. You've got yourself a hologram! Big deal. You get it to do anything else besides that, or can you not even program these things right?
[ He gets the feeling that there's something more to this little display, but he's already too frustrated to think about it too much. Nice job, Hugo. Underestimating Rhys was easier, anyway. ]
no subject
But Jack. Jack is front and center. ]
'Wallethead, my ol' chumbucket -- are you? Doubting? My authenticity? Is that a thing that's happening right now?'
[ Rhys tilts his head and musters up a smirk. This is not the card he wanted to play, but it's a strong one, and he's responsible for pulling Dumpy back.
Jack is close enough to dominate the screen despite the small size. His voice is part jovial, all poison, and max reverb. ]
no subject
[ A flurry of questions come bubbling up to the forefront of his mind all at once-- how did Rhys know that nickname, anyway? How did this...Jack know that? How had Rhys managed this-- he hadn't seen much of anything in Norfinbury yet that would've contributed toward making any of what he's seeing here. Would that mean that this Jack had been brought from home-- and if so, what the hell? ]
[ This...was probably the thing he'd been trying to retrieve. While Vasquez could guess what Hyperion would've wanted with a simulacrum of Handsome Jack himself, there were still a few gaps in the equation that were making the conclusion a bit too uncertain for his liking. ]
[ He sucks in a breath through his teeth, jaw clenched tight. As far as he knew, this wasn't the boss he'd known and loved, but-- Rhys was probably planning something. He'd play along for now, in the hopes that he could get some more information in the process for later. If this was all part of some trick, he'd get the better of Rhys eventually; he just had to wait it out until mistakes were made, and then he'd put an end to this. ]
[ How dare he use Jack's image, anyway? The fucking gall-- ]
It's-- You're a little different than I remember, boss. [ 'YOU'RE A FEW INCHES TALL AND BLUE AND THAT'S A BIG DIFFERENCE,' but that goes unsaid. Presently, at least. ] And you're apparently shacked up with Helios' number one failure, which is...kinda surprising? You know what you're doing, though. Not second-guessing you or anything. [ --as he adds hurriedly. Vasquez liked to think he knew where the thin ice was with Jack, but he wasn't going to bank on it too much here. ]
[ Quite literally the only reason he wasn't losing his shit over the Jackness of the situation is because of the whole...hologram thing. It just wasn't the same-- how was a projection gonna punch anyone? Even then, Vasquez's expression shifts to an odd sort of cringe, and he can't help but fidget in place. No matter how small and what color, Jack was...still intimidating. Despite his best efforts, there was some genuine discomfort present, although he wasn't going to brace himself for impact. He had to get to the bottom of whatever Rhys was planning, and he wasn't going to do that if he was too busy getting tied up in knots over knee-jerk responses to things that couldn't even happen. ]